Those picking up Theatre Tickets at the Garrick Theatre in 2012 will have the choice of two shows that will give different audiences contrasting viewpoints of history. One will go back to the windy city of the 1920s as the musical “Chicago” appears on the stage and the other will look at the history of ‘Barmy Britain’ as the stage version of “Horrible Histories” arrives in town.

Penned by Terry Deary (author of many additions of the book series), Ciaran McConville and the show’s director Neal Foster, “Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain” will give daytime audiences a unique glimpse at some of the more comical aspects of our nation’s past.

The cast includes the likes of Benedict Martin and Lauryn Redding and they will help to get across an array of facts regarding British history and the ‘barmy’ people that inhabited these isles in the past. Just like the books the show will also touch on some of the gory and more gruesome aspects of history as well, from Guy Fawkes attempts to blow up Parliament to Henry VIII’s famous escapades in the 16th century, making this an unmissable journey for those above the age of six years.

“Horrible Histories” is best known as a series of books, which first started to emerge in shops around the country in the early 1990s and since then they have grown in popularity. There are many different authors that have contributed to the array of publications, from Terry Deary to Peter Hepplewhite, and various illustrators as well, with well known releases like “The Terrible Tudors”, “The Awesome Egyptians”, “Blitzed Brits”, “Rotten Romans”, “Villainous Victorians” and “Incredible Incas”, among others. Then there are the plays, which have included “The Mad Millennium”, “Wild Wales”, and “The Frightful First World War”, among others.

Writer Terry Deary has been behind a wealth of well known books over the years, though his contributions to the “Horrible Histories” series are perhaps among his best known work, though he has also leant his expertise to the CBBC television show “Horrible Histories: Gory Games” as well.